Group Ride Etiquette?

I finally did it. I went on a group ride. They have two groups on that leave 15 after the other and is a little shorter. I went on that one and kept up pretty well it's a pretty small group. But now I feel Like I can't do it. The only problem is that in a month on that night my bible study begins but by then maybe I will fine other group rides. It was fun.

Lesley

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Check out your local shop too. I work at a shop and offer to ride with others if they're getting into road riding to give them some tips for riding in groups. A few times, I was able to group two or three newbies, which made it very user friendly. Even with just two people, you can get the feel for drafting and cycling through. It may give you that comfort zone enough to get to that first level.

Ok I'm riding by myself because I need to find out exactly where the rides are but Wednesday or Thursday both have no drop rides. I will do one or both this week. I gardened this morning and walked dog and in a bit will go for a 20 mile bike ride. What if your pace is really slow what will even a no drop ride do? I rode 16 miles yesterday and it took me 1:22 is that too slow?

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

It's on Saturday so I will try that. Thanks for the help!! I'm going solo tonight there is a ride but it is 5 miles from my house and 18 mile ride and I clean homes for a living and did 4 homes today so I'm sure I can't keep up tonight. I'm ready for Saturday, now I can't talk myself out of it. Lesley

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

"I'm new and this is my problem: I've been riding for a little over a year by myself and want to do group rides but am intimated they all look like they know what they are doing. I chickened out again this week so I"m off to ride by myself again. Ideas welcome!!"

Find a beginner ride. The kind of ride where nobody is dropped, everyone stops if anyone has a flat or mechanical problem, and it is more social than training. When you are comfortable with this try other rides.

I'm new and this is my problem: I've been riding for a little over a year by myself and want to do group rides but am intimated they all look like they know what they are doing. I chickened out again this week so I"m off to ride by myself again. Ideas welcome!! Lesley

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

One more thing I should have mentioned; a lot of teams sprint for every city limits sign they see on a training ride. If you notice the group start to set up for the sprint before a sign you may want to hang back out of the fray. Everyone regroups after the sign. You might not be ready to bump elbows with other riders in a 40+ MPH sprint at first. Most of the triathletes who used to train with us didn't participitate in these sprints since sprints are not part of their event.

Winning these sprints gives riders bragging rights if they meet for beer and pizza after the ride.

Check out www.daytonabikeclub.org for a brouchure about pace line etiquette.

All of the items listed from these posts are very valid and pretty common practice. Remember, wear a helmet and no headphones.

Hold a line and steady pace. Only pull for a short period of time, then motion & pull off. Use the same motion and pull out to the same side as the rider in front of you. Different people have different ways of doing things, but a good rule is to follow the lead of the person in front of you. Stay out of aero bars (if you have them).

And of course, just have fun! Enjoy the ride & let us know how it went!

Sunday: race or if no race that weekend the longest hardest training ride we can do with race tactics: attacks, break aways, working with or against each other, etc.

Monday: Easy 25 mile ride recovery ride.

Tuesday: Early in the year fast 40ish mile ride, later intervals or sprints

Wednesday: Long ride.

Thursday: hill work or hill intervals unless there is a race on Saturday in which case an easy recovery ride.

Friday: Recovery ride, perhaps longer than 25 if everyone feels good.

Saturday: Easy 25 mile recovery ride.

With my team a new rider would be pretty lost if they showed up for a Sunday ride where we spent the whole ride beating up on each other. If they showed up on Tue, Fri, or Sat it would probably be a shorter and easier ride than they were used to.

You might ask them what day would be a good day for you to ride with them.

Most bike shops that sponsor a race team also have rides for moderate pace riders and ones specifically for beginners. You might enquire about other rides as well. Often the medium pace rides explain pacelines and echelons with a little more patience that you would get from jumping into a race pace training ride.

To me the number 1 rule for riding in a group is to ride smoothly and predictably. If someone drops a water bottle in front of you it is usually better to run over it than swerving in a tight group. When you are in front look ahead so you can alert riders behind you of potholes, glass, etc. When you are in the middle of a paceline try to look farther ahead than the cyclist in front of you.

There isn't as much verbal communication among racers as other riders. Racers don't constantly say "on your left" as the pass other racers because they assume the other rider won't swerve unexpectantly. When you are moving up through a group of riders you might touch their theighs with your hands as you go through instead of saying "on your left/right" since chances are you will be coming through riders on both sides. Generally any paceline gets into a rhythm and everyone just knows how long to pull. The more riders the shorter the pulls become. If there are just two riders in a break than expect to take pulls around a minute or two. In a larger group 30-60 pedal strokes is more the norm. If you are struggling to stay on the paceline nobody will blame you for immediately pulling aside when you get to the front rather than taking a pull.

Group rides are a great deal of fun even though they may be a little intimidating at first.

Make sure everyone knows that you're new. They'll take the time to show you the signals and give you a run-down on the rules of the group. Every group has a slightly different way of doing things. Around here we normally go double paceline if the road is clear and we're cruising, or single paceline if we're booking it.

If the groups are sorted by pace, go into the slowest group for your first couple of rides. It's stressful riding in a group initially, it's even more so when you're at the limit. Once your comfortable, then move up.

When you're in the group, be nice and smooth. Don't overlap wheels with the guy in front (half wheel). If he moves suddenly, you're down. Learn how to ride in a straight line, especially when shoulder checking. Don't use aerobars. Eat and drink at the back of the group, that way if you fumble your bottle you don't take down people behind you.

Keep a consistent gap between your wheel and the wheel of the guy in front. Don't let a gap open and then sprint to close it - this leads to a yo-yo effect down your line and really annoys everyone. You also get a reputation as a squirrely rider, you don't want that.

When you're at the front, keep the speed consistent. As you come to the front, don't accelerate - hold your speed and you should overtake the rider who's just pulled off as he should be decelerating. If you're tired then rotate off quickly (i.e. take shorter pulls). If you're feeling good, take longer ones, do not go faster.

When you pull off, decelerate slightly or soft pedal. Decelerating gives you a rest and allows the rest of the group to pass you - the only acceleration you need is to catch the wheel of the last rider coming through. Make sure you look behind you to check that the last rider is actually last - over the weekend someone fed back into the rotation that I wasn't counting on and I nearly merged right into him...

In a double paceline you don't need to do this, just follow the rotation. In our part of the world, the tail rider in a double paceline stays towards the centre of the road and calls cars and turns.

But all that said, the only way to learn is to do. Get out there, listen to the more experienced riders and enjoy yourself!

In God we trust, all others bring data. - W. Edwards Demings

If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken Him completely by surprise. -P.Z. Pearce

Wish I could help you but have never been on a group ride. I have some friends that do group rides but I was not wanting to slow them down and have not gone with them as of yet even though they keep on me about it.

The Picture on the left is my motivation to get in shape and lose weight!!!!!!!

Every group has it's own quirks. With our group you get in line, the leader drafts for a while, then pulls out and falls to the back and the next person pulls. When you are pulling, keep a steady cadence (ours is about 90). Shift on hills so your cadence remains the same, don't try to hammer up the hills fast. You can always ask the LBS if there are any special habits the group has.

beverly

One Day at a Time: 1) walk/ride 30 minutes 2) daily plank 3) fruit or veggie with each meal4) sew 1 bobbin full 5) do a good deed

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